Korthi, Andros

By Christa Di Marco

For two weeks in December I lived my life inside of a dream. I traveled to Greece to visit an old friend, Terry. I spent the majority of my time in Athens, but on the weekend, we traveled by bus, cab, boat, and rental car to his family's home in Korthi, a town on the island of Andros. This steep hillside village of magical charm is made up of stark white homes set against a sky and sea that contain every shade of blue imaginable.

I was fortunate to have experienced his family's culture and traditions through food and fun. On my first morning in Korthi, we were invited over to his Aunt Anna's home to join the family in a traditional Pig Feast. We arrived at ten o'clock in the morning, and the home was already full of busy people preparing the food for the day. I heard, saw, and smelled jolly laughing, homemade wine, and food-a lot of food. The home had been in the family for generations and was wonderfully rustic and simple. The women cooked over small fires, while the men butchered the pig and prepared the different parts to be cooked. Everyone had a job to do. I was able to help stuff some sausage, which this otherwise strict vegetarian enjoyed as part of the traditional experience. After the preparations were finished, we ate an incredible lunch with forty or so family members that had helped prepare the lunch. Then, everyone went home for a nap and came back later for the dinner feast: grape leaves stuffed with rice and ground pork, soup that had been simmering all day, and french-fries that had been cooked in a wood burning oven.

During my stay, Terry and his family shared their corner of the world. They told me stories, answered the hundreds of questions I asked, and showed me some of the most beautiful places I had ever seen. It is amazing that their customs have been passed down through so many generations and have not been altered over time. Terry's family has preserved a pure and modest lifestyle because of the pride they share for their homeland and the virtue instilled in their family.

* This article was published Spring 2002 in
"The Intrepid Scholar" of The University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA, USA.